Study: For 6 out of 10 employees, wellbeing benefits are a priority in choosing a job

Romanian employees are increasingly concerned about the wellbeing area, for 6 out of 10 employees the benefits in the wellbeing area being a priority in choosing a job, according to  the Benefit study conducted by Edenred Romania, which analyzes the evolution and current trends in the extra-salary benefits industry in Romania. This year’s edition of the Benefit Study is conducted in partnership with HUMANISTIC, a consulting company in the field of human resources and organizational environment and OLX Jobs.   If we look at the five dimensions of organizational, physical, emotional, financial, professional, and spiritual wellbeing, financial wellbeing is the biggest challenge for a third of employees while mental/emotional wellbeing is the top concern in the office for a quarter of employees.   The extra-salary benefits ecosystem addresses all 5 dimensions of organizational wellbeing (physical, emotional, financial, professional, and spiritual) and allows employers to respond as best as possible to the evolving needs of employees, in order to increase their wellbeing.   Thus, in the physical health area, employees have available in the Edenred Benefit platform subscriptions to fitness rooms and nutrition consultations, while on the emotional health side they can find on the platform ways to relax and spend their free time, including cultural activities. In terms of financial safety, the platform comes with a multitude of special offers and allows access to financial protection instruments, such as insurance or private pensions, while at a professional level employees have access through the Edenred Benefit platform to training and learning & development tools. Last but not least, on the fifth dimension, spiritual, we are talking about access to Spa centers and psychological consultations and psychotherapy.   “The extra-salary benefits market has evolved significantly, reflecting adaptations to the socio-economic context and labor market trends. Companies have made full use of the opportunities offered by legislation, including increasing the amounts for meal cards, for example, and have resorted to extra-salary benefits to provide an extra income to employees in an inflationary context. Thus, benefit budgets continued to grow, covering 10-30% of total compensation. We expect further growth, our forecasts being that for 2024 too, the average monthly benefits budget will register increases of two digit, for the fifth consecutive year. We continue to stay close to our customers with information and recommendations so that they make the best choices for their employees, the solutions and products offered by Edenred contributing significantly to reducing financial pressure and improving the quality of life of employees”, says Ovidiu Birsa, Commercial Director, Edenred Romania.   According to the Benefit study, the average monthly budget allocated to benefits offered by companies to employees increased in 2023 by 12%), from RON 696 to RON 783. The top of industries, in terms of budgets allocated per employee, is led by financial services companies, with an average budget per employee of 988 RON / month, followed by IT & software, with 803 RON / month,  industry  and trade with similar budgets, 716 RON / month and 712 RON / month, respectively.   On the other hand, in order to best meet the evolving needs of employees, more and more employers are turning to flexible benefits, which is starting to become a competitive advantage in terms of employer branding and significantly improves employee retention. Offering flexible benefits is a growing trend that is observed in employers in all fields,  with the number  of companies choosing the Edenred Benefit flexible benefits system increasing by 20% in 2023 compared to 2022.   The jobs index conducted by OLX Jobs and released in February 2024 shows that, beyond increasing the salary level and granting attractive financial benefits, Romanian employees want from their employer extra-salary benefits equally with promoting a balance between personal and professional life. Improving working conditions, working atmosphere and team relationships are also at the top of employees’ preferences. Employees value their overall level of well-being, have higher expectations from employers in this area and how employers respond decisively influences employee satisfaction and retention.   Also, Humanistic’s Career Shift 2022 study notes an increase in stress levels in the work environment, with nearly 60% of employees surveyed stating that they have felt stressed or very stressed at work in the last six months. For this reason, an employee would swap one job for another, with similar salary, for better benefits related to the work environment, remote work or leisure. Among the top things an employee is not willing to give up even for a higher salary are free time, the possibility of remote work and working hours.   Correlated with these trends on the labor market, in the top of the most accessed extra-salary benefits in the Edenred Benefit platform are tourism, with an increase of 58% compared to 2022, gifts – benefits in kind, with an increase of 35% compared to the previous year (2021) and gifts offered for special occasions, with an increase of 18%. The next benefit preferred by employees, with a 63% increase compared to 2022, is represented by teleworking, ahead of health benefits, fifth place, and private pensions, in sixth place. The significant increases in tourism and cultural activities, of 58% and 71%, respectively, reflect the need of employees to relax, reduce stress and improve the balance between personal life and the professional area. The top excludes the meal card, which still remains the #1 benefit preferred by employees in Romania.   If until last year, private pensions were rather in the Top 3 preferences for Gen X and Baby Boomers, from 2023 it began to gain ground among younger generations, which shows an increased interest in the financial safety area, another important indicator of wellbeing.   Starting from the trends on the labor market, focusing on the importance of the wellbeing area, the new version of the Edenred Benefit online platform, available in June, offers users an improved experience, integrating new tools and functionalities. At the same time, by providing access to a wide ecosystem of extra-salary benefits, the platform responds better to the needs of employees, supporting the increase of their general wellbeing, on all five dimensions, both at the office and in their free time.  Among the novelties that comes with the new version of the Edenred Benefit platform are: Modern interface with an elegant and intuitive design, optimized navigation with advanced filtering options and more efficient search engine to improve user experience. Managing Edenred cards directly from the app to have easier control over all benefits. Personalized dashboard that allows users to manage and check the balances of all Edenred benefits, check the status and history of the orders they place on the platform and view the transaction history. Detailed report of purchases to have better control over the budget. Enhanced protection with biometric authentication.